DHAKA: Rohingya activists in Bangladesh are calling on the international community to increase pressure on Myanmar following a renewed call at the UN for safe and sustainable repatriation of the persecuted minority to their homeland.
Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar have endured decades of systematic discrimination and persecution, including the 2017 military crackdown that killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands from Rakhine State.
Earlier this month, the UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on the human rights situation of the Rohingya and other Myanmar minorities, making it among the latest to call on the government in Naypyidaw to create “conducive conditions for the voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable” repatriation.
“To ensure sustainable repatriation, there should be much more pressure from different sides by the international community on the Myanmar government,” Mohammed Rezuwan Khan, a Rohingya rights activist in Cox’s Bazar, told Arab News this week.
“All of us Rohingya are eager to return to our homeland. But there should be a conducive situation over there in Rakhine. In the current situation, if we return, the Myanmar government will persecute us again.”
Khan is among more than a million Rohingya languishing in refugee camps in Bangladesh, which for years has hosted and provided them with humanitarian support despite not being a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention.
The developing country spends an estimated $1.2 billion annually to support the Rohingya, as international aid for the community has been dropping since 2020. The UN World Food Programme cut food rations for the group earlier this year, as its pleas for donations had not been met.
The Rohingya community in Cox’s Bazar is suffering as it seeks certainty about their future, Khan said.
“If we are forced to live here for a longer period, it will create a lost generation of Rohingya,” he said, alluding to the lack of educational and work opportunities for the community.
Rohingya in Myanmar also feel “they are not safe enough,” Khan said, while those in Bangladesh similarly feel unsafe due to rising crime in the camps.
“A sense of insecurity prevails here among us all the time,” Khan said.
“I don’t know when I would be killed by whom; that’s why we don’t want to continue living here. We appeal to the international community to ensure a sustainable solution to this Rohingya crisis.”
An increasing number of Rohingya risk perilous boat journeys to leave Bangladesh for countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia. In 2022, over 3,500 attempted dangerous sea crossings, according to the UNHCR.
Despite various plans for the Rohingya to return to Myanmar over the years, no practical progress has been made. The latest attempt took place in May, involving refugee community leaders and Bangladeshi officials visiting Rakhine State to assess the possibility of repatriation.
Mohammad Jubaer, chairman of the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights in Cox’s Bazar, highlighted the importance of accountability.
“The international community should ensure some accountability issues like dignity, security, etc. In the place where we will be living in Myanmar, it should be a safe zone maintained by the international community. Otherwise, the Myanmar authorities will again forcefully send us to Bangladesh like before,” Jubaer told Arab News.
“It’s not only the issue of persecution of Rohingya. All other ethnic minority groups in Myanmar should be protected,” he said.
“The international community should exert more pressure on Myanmar to ensure this.”
Developed countries and intergovernmental organizations bear “ethical responsibilities” when it comes to the Rohingya issue, said Mohammed Nur Khan, a Bangladeshi rights activist and migration expert.
“Since they are in an advanced position in terms of political and financial situation, so, ethically, the responsibilities go more on them. Firstly, they can open the door of discussions at the UN platform. It’s very much crucial,” Khan told Arab News.
“Secondly, they can compel the Myanmar junta to create a favorable environment by exercising different approaches like imposing economic sanctions and others. The international community should engage regional platforms like ASEAN more actively,” he said.
Khan said the latest UN resolution may spark more efforts from the Myanmar government to improve the situation in Rakhine State, but he is unsure it can create a thoroughly conducive environment for the Rohingya.
The UN resolution comes following high-profile visits to refugee camps in Bangladesh, including OIC Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha and Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Khan.
“But it should be done, even if it takes time. Without ensuring this, it wouldn’t be the right decision for us to repatriate the Rohingya. I don’t think the current situation in Rakhine is favorable for ensuring a secure living environment for anyone.”
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Rohingya activists call for more international pressure on Myanmar
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Rohingya activists call for more international pressure on Myanmar
- Rohingya Muslims, other Myanmar minorities have endured decades of persecution
- Latest UN resolution calls on Myanmar to create conducive conditions for repatriation
Nepal’s youth lead the charge in the upcoming election
Katmandu: Kishori Karki, 25, has been seeking blessings from elders in her community as the young candidate prepares to fight for change ahead of Nepal’s landmark election next month.
The 25-year-old is among a slate of fresh faces on the March 5 ballot and said fighting against corruption and elevating youth demands are among her highest priorities.
“Our demands and aspirations should not be sidelined,” she said while speaking with AFP in her hometown of Okhaldhunga in eastern Nepal.
Kishori had just graduated from law school and moved to Katmandu in September when deadly youth?led anti?corruption protests erupted in the region.
A video of the young candidate taking an injured demonstrator to the hospital on a motorbike became one of the movement’s defining images.
The two-day demonstrations had initially been triggered by rage over a brief government ban on social media and were spearheaded by young protesters under the loose “Gen Z” banner.
But their anger ran deeper: years of economic stagnation and entrenched corruption had primed the country of 30 million for upheaval.
The resulting violence killed 77 people, wounded scores and saw hundreds of buildings torched.
“After the Gen Z movement, if educated youth like us stand back, then the same old parties will play the same game,” Kishori explained.
Kishori is running under the newly formed Ujyalo Nepal Party, led by former minister Kulman Ghising, who won significant public support for easing the country’s chronic power shortages.
Former chief justice Sushila Karki, no relation to Kishori, is serving as interim prime minister until the vote.
-’New generation’-
Members for the 275-seat House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament, will be voted in — with 165 members chosen in a direct vote and 110 through proportional representation.
A total of 3,406 candidates have registered for the direct election, of which 30 percent are under the age of 40.
“If you look at the candidates, the bigger portion are the new generation,” said Prakash Nyaupane, spokesperson for the election commission.
Younger candidates are “a bit different,” Nyaupane said, adding that “some older leaders have had to step back because of this.”
Katmandu’s rapper-turned-mayor Balendra Shah, who resigned from his position to join the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), is also a strong contender.
A prime minister hopeful, Shah will challenge ousted premier KP Sharma Oli in his eastern Nepal stronghold, Jhapa.
Shah told AFP that the protest had “opened a door” for new faces to enter politics, while raising the importance of governance among younger constituents.
Sudan Gurung — a key figure of the September unrest — is also running for the RSP from the Gorkha district in central Nepal.
Gurung, 38, has been urging families in his constituency to “vote for the right person.”
Meanwhile, further west in the Rukum district, 28-year-old Sandeep Pun will challenge ex-rebel leader and Maoist chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal, also known as Prachanda, a term that means “fierce” in Nepali.
Several new parties and alliances have emerged nationwide, recruiting fresh and popular faces in a bid to reconnect with disillusioned voters, members have said.
Though many young candidates are also running in the election independently.
“It does seem that the September protest has galvanized young people to take part in politics, and not just as candidates,” said journalist Pranaya Rana, who covers politics in the region.
-’Back on track’-
Civil war engulfed Nepal, a former monarchy, for more than a decade until a peace deal brokered in 2008 saw Maoist insurgents brought into government.
A revolving door of aging prime ministers and a culture of horse-trading between the three dominant parties, however, has fueled public frustration.
“It is very difficult for us to again be fooled by promises from the people who have already been in parliament so many times,” said Manjil Rana, 37, a candidate for the Ujyalo Nepal Party in Tanahu.
“The recent revolution was a lot about young people, their voices and them participating in the government.”
There are some 18.9 million eligible voters, including more than 800,000 first-time voters, according to the latest election commission data reviewed by AFP.
Sachin Timalsena, a 33-year-old candidate from Nepali Congress, said Nepal was at a “critical juncture,” and the elections could bring the country back on track.
“I think the environment is supportive of the youth. I feel our society is ready for young people,” he said.
The 25-year-old is among a slate of fresh faces on the March 5 ballot and said fighting against corruption and elevating youth demands are among her highest priorities.
“Our demands and aspirations should not be sidelined,” she said while speaking with AFP in her hometown of Okhaldhunga in eastern Nepal.
Kishori had just graduated from law school and moved to Katmandu in September when deadly youth?led anti?corruption protests erupted in the region.
A video of the young candidate taking an injured demonstrator to the hospital on a motorbike became one of the movement’s defining images.
The two-day demonstrations had initially been triggered by rage over a brief government ban on social media and were spearheaded by young protesters under the loose “Gen Z” banner.
But their anger ran deeper: years of economic stagnation and entrenched corruption had primed the country of 30 million for upheaval.
The resulting violence killed 77 people, wounded scores and saw hundreds of buildings torched.
“After the Gen Z movement, if educated youth like us stand back, then the same old parties will play the same game,” Kishori explained.
Kishori is running under the newly formed Ujyalo Nepal Party, led by former minister Kulman Ghising, who won significant public support for easing the country’s chronic power shortages.
Former chief justice Sushila Karki, no relation to Kishori, is serving as interim prime minister until the vote.
-’New generation’-
Members for the 275-seat House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament, will be voted in — with 165 members chosen in a direct vote and 110 through proportional representation.
A total of 3,406 candidates have registered for the direct election, of which 30 percent are under the age of 40.
“If you look at the candidates, the bigger portion are the new generation,” said Prakash Nyaupane, spokesperson for the election commission.
Younger candidates are “a bit different,” Nyaupane said, adding that “some older leaders have had to step back because of this.”
Katmandu’s rapper-turned-mayor Balendra Shah, who resigned from his position to join the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), is also a strong contender.
A prime minister hopeful, Shah will challenge ousted premier KP Sharma Oli in his eastern Nepal stronghold, Jhapa.
Shah told AFP that the protest had “opened a door” for new faces to enter politics, while raising the importance of governance among younger constituents.
Sudan Gurung — a key figure of the September unrest — is also running for the RSP from the Gorkha district in central Nepal.
Gurung, 38, has been urging families in his constituency to “vote for the right person.”
Meanwhile, further west in the Rukum district, 28-year-old Sandeep Pun will challenge ex-rebel leader and Maoist chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal, also known as Prachanda, a term that means “fierce” in Nepali.
Several new parties and alliances have emerged nationwide, recruiting fresh and popular faces in a bid to reconnect with disillusioned voters, members have said.
Though many young candidates are also running in the election independently.
“It does seem that the September protest has galvanized young people to take part in politics, and not just as candidates,” said journalist Pranaya Rana, who covers politics in the region.
-’Back on track’-
Civil war engulfed Nepal, a former monarchy, for more than a decade until a peace deal brokered in 2008 saw Maoist insurgents brought into government.
A revolving door of aging prime ministers and a culture of horse-trading between the three dominant parties, however, has fueled public frustration.
“It is very difficult for us to again be fooled by promises from the people who have already been in parliament so many times,” said Manjil Rana, 37, a candidate for the Ujyalo Nepal Party in Tanahu.
“The recent revolution was a lot about young people, their voices and them participating in the government.”
There are some 18.9 million eligible voters, including more than 800,000 first-time voters, according to the latest election commission data reviewed by AFP.
Sachin Timalsena, a 33-year-old candidate from Nepali Congress, said Nepal was at a “critical juncture,” and the elections could bring the country back on track.
“I think the environment is supportive of the youth. I feel our society is ready for young people,” he said.
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